


Ace: King of Pirates

by LeightAiden777



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Feels, Dead Monkey D. Luffy, Dead Sabo (One Piece), Families of Choice, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Pre-Slash, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2020-06-26 22:33:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19777825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeightAiden777/pseuds/LeightAiden777
Summary: This is the story of Portgas D Ace and how, despite everything and even his own misgivings, he became the King of Pirates.OrWhere being reborn as a fictional character from a favourite anime is not what fanfictions made it out to be. Mistakes are made… and some cannot be reversible. Instead of saving everyone and having a grand adventure like in those stories, you end up ruining the whole story by killing the most important characters.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is from an idea I most recently had. Self-Inserts are so common now, and as my usual readers already know, I've also written a few. However, one thing I'm starting to find boring about those fics is that they're always so cliche. And, yes, even mine. The characters always 'win' at the end of the day. They are born in this completely new world and things just fall into place perfectly for them one way or another. I want something more. And so this fic is born! I want my characters to show real pain and suffer, face hardships. I want their struggles to be genuine.
> 
> Ace starts as an optimistic OC ready to face the world, sure that he will be better than the Original Ace, if only because of his knowledge. Except life does not work like that. Instead, the main character, the person the world revolves around, wounds up dead. And suddenly the future is not so certain. Now he has to scramble for the remains.
> 
> I'm already telling you, the OC part will not have too much impact on the story except as a supportive role. It serves to amplify his mistakes more than making him different or in any special.
> 
> I'm particularly excited for this fic since Ace has always been my favourite character besides Luffy in One Piece. Any other fic I publish in this fandom will most likely feature him. I mean, come on, he's so perfect for angst. Ace dying was the worst thing to ever happen and so I'll be using fics to 'bring him back to life'.
> 
> I hope you guys like it. I've already written the next chapter but I'll see how it goes before publishing it, so don't hesitate to tell me what you think.
> 
> Leight

Gol D Ace or Portgas D Ace.

It did not matter what he decided to call himself. He was the only one who knew that he was never meant to be born. Many others would rather see him dead if they knew of his parentage but if they knew just how much he had ruined the world… then they would want him dead for something else entirely and if he was honest, it would be for the most important reason. Who cared about his father when he had destroyed the future?

You see, before he was born in this world where it was normal for seven years old little boys to have their bodies made of rubber, he had been someone else entirely and lived in a world where everything was different. For one, over There this new world was a story, one about a boy's journey to become the king of Pirates.

Now…

Well, now this boy would never set out to conquer the world. And it was all because of Ace.

Ace ruined everything.

Oh, he remembered those stories he used to read Before about people from There being born in fictional worlds, already knowing how the future was supposed to go. One common factor in those stories had been how those people always managed to reach their happy endings. To change the future to suit their dreams. To meet their favourite characters and become friends with them. Maybe even to find romance along the way.

How wrong they had been.

Knowing the future did not mean you would be able to manipulate it as you wished.

Sometimes knowing the future and trying to change it… can simply ruin the whole story.

At first, when he first realised in what kind of situation he found himself in, he felt terrified at what he knew was to come but also excited. How could he not? Not only was he not dead but he was also one of his favourite fictional characters. He was sure everything would be fine. He knew there would be a lot of challenges coming his way in the future but he did have the advantage.

First, unlike Other Ace, he had no reason to really hate his new biological father whom he had never met. Sure, everyone in the know reminded him every time that he never should have been born and of course they would. The Pirate King was his father after all. Who was to say he was not going to be just like him? However, unlike Other Ace, he also knew that Roger had been sick when he died and he had given himself up. He knew that Roger was never that monstrous man everyone made him out to be; he had often been compared to the protagonist of the story after all. So, Ace never really had to grow up with this knowledge as a handicap.

Why should he be ashamed of having Gol D Roger as a father? He would never scream on rooftops his parentage or even use Gol D as his name (he was not suicidal) but a part of him was proud of having _the last Pirate King_ as his sire.

In fact, every time Dadan told him he was worthless and should never had been born, Ace reminded himself that Other Dadan had cried when Other Ace died, so she did care even when she said otherwise. Every time Garp came for more 'training' to make him into a Marine, he reminded himself that Other Ace had been a great pirate and people had gone to war to save him (even if the end result was not in his favour).

He was determined not to make Other Ace's same mistakes.

When Luffy would come to live with the bandits, he would make sure to be exceptionally nice to him. He could even protect Sabo from his 'death'. When he would meet the Whitebeard pirates, there would be no reason for him to try killing Whitebeard. He could trap Teach and prevent Thatch's death. He would make sure not to end up in Impel Down so he would not die like Other Ace. Heck, maybe he could just join Luffy's crew instead as a Strawhat pirate. There was a world of possibilities opened to him. After all, he already knew the future so what could go wrong?

Apparently everything.


	2. Chapter One

_He clutched the straw hat in his hand, staring ahead at the wide blue sea opening up in front of him. It would be easy, so easy, he sometimes thought to himself. There was no one to stop him and maybe it would right all the wrongs he had done and the world would go back to what it was supposed to be. After all he was never supposed to have been born anyway._

_And without him… without him_ they _would still be alive to fulfil their destiny._

_But no. He could not do it. How could he when he still had to accomplish_ their _dreams? That was the least he could do after everything._

_With that thought, Ace sat back down in the dinghy._

* * *

Ace had no idea where he was. Shit. He really hoped he was on the right island. That stupid whirlpool made him lose all his navigation tools when it almost upturned his dinghy. Well, at least he had not actually drowned then. That would take the cake; no sooner had he set off than he lost his life! Well, anyway, there was a marine base stationed on the island so there was a chance he was on the right track.

He was sure there had been something else happening in the journey between Dawn Island to there but he really could not remember what. He hoped he had not ruined everything _again_. With a stressed groan, he thought that he might have. Typical really.

Well, he could still check the marine base. That was the only way to know for now. No one knew who he was. They did not know his name nor that he was a pirate so he was pretty safe for now.

_Grooowl… Ruuuumbleeee…_

Ace let out a pained grimace, hands clutching at his hurting stomach. Yeah, food first and then marine base.

With that thought in mind, the young man made his way to the nearest place that offered food which turned out to be a bar not unlike Makino's. With a brief nostalgic quirk of the lips, he sat down at an empty table and ordered. Plate after plate after plate appeared and promptly emptied as Ace wolfed down everything in reach. It was after the eighteenth plate that he looked up. Ignoring the blatantly horrified and disgusted looks around him, he decided to ask what he had come to that island in the first place.

"Ma'am? Excuse me, have you seen a man with green hair and three swords around?" he asked, never slowing down in scarfing down the food around him. The recoil from around him was not what he expected and he even paused to look around him with a slow blink. Everyone around him looked suddenly terrified. It would have been funny if not for the fact that no one looked ready to answer his question.

"A-Ah I'm sorry, sir," the barmaid said, wringing a piece of cloth she had been using to wipe a nearby table in her hands. "It'd be best if you don't talk about that man around here." Ace blinked once more.

"Alright..? I apologise for the bother." Not wishing to remain in that place with the awkward atmosphere, he quickly finished his last plate and left.

"W-Wait, Sir! You did not pay!"

Ace bolted for the door.

When he reached the marine base, he climbed the wall and looked inside. He sighed in relief as his eyes caught sight of a green haired man tied to a pole. Now he could say he had not completely missed his mark. He still felt like there was something missing but if he had found the man as he had expected then it might not be important after all. Just useless details.

He settled on the wall, sitting cross-legged and called attention to himself by whistling. The other's head snapped towards him and Ace came to be on the receiving end of a massive glare. Inwardly, he was impressed; outwardly, he popped his chin on his fist and stared down at the tied up man.

"Who the hell are you?" the other growled, glare remaining in place. "Get away from here."

Ace hummed. "Me? I'm Ace," he said simply. Then, without any prompting, "Join my pirate crew."

"Hah!? Who the hell do you think you are!?"

Ace's lower lip jutted out in thought, confusion clear on his face. "I just said it; I'm Ace. Now join my crew."

"The hell would I do that for!? What makes you think I'll go and become a pirate, huh!? And if I do, why would I join you?"

"Not that it matters, Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro," a new voice interrupted. At the entrance of the yard appeared a group of marines, the one leading the armed men appeared to be the Superior in rank. Unlike the others, his marine uniform differed in that he wore a sleeveless trench coat and his right hand was replaced by an axe. His metal jaw seemed really ridiculous to Ace; he looked like he was overcompensating for something. Well, would not surprise him; marines tended to be egotistical idiots.

_(Not that some pirates were any different but whatever.)_

"You are my prisoner and you're not going anywhere. I, Captain Morgan, will have you executed right now!"

"HAAAA!? I had a deal with your stupid son, asshole!" Zoro exclaimed starting to flail against his restraints.

"Deal is off," Morgan said as the other marines spread out to form a semi-circle in front of the two.

"What else did you expect? They're marines, not exactly honest people," Ace commented cheerfully.

"How presumptuous, coming from a pirate," Morgan countered.

"Hey, at least for us pirates it's expected. Now Marines on the other hand… People expect you to be all paragon of good and whatnot and then you turn out to be – well, _you_."

"Why you little –"

Ace smirked at the utterly irked expression on Morgan's face. He glanced at the tied up younger man as he came to stand in front of him. "So, Zoro, as to why you should join my crew, you want to be the World's Greatest Swordsman, right?"

"What the – HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW THAT, ASSHOLE!?"

Ace sweatdropped. "You didn't… exactly make it a secret, you know. It's easy to find out if you ask the right person –

"That's enough, pirate – "

"– _Anyway_ , as I was saying, if you really want to become the World's Greatest Swordsman, you can't stay here in East Blue, the weakest of all Blues. You'll have to go to the Grand Line and you can't exactly do that alone."

"Oi –"

"– I plan on going to the Grand Line, so why not join me?"

"– YOU –"

"And I ask again, why should I join _your_ crew? Being a pirate would put me in the World Government's Black List and that'd be… annoying."

"HOW DARE YOU IGNORE _ME_ , CAPTAIN MORGAN!?" The enraged marine captain bellowed, his axe arm tearing through the air to the grinning self-proclaimed pirate captain.

"Because –" Ace pivoted on his left foot, deftly dodging the axe, ducking under the marine's arm, his own punch coming up to connect with the underside of the iron jaw. Morgan's head snapped back, his body following only a split second later, soaring through the air to land a few meters away. As the dust settled, Ace smirked at a gapping Zoro, unperturbed by the other equally gapping marine officers. "– I'll be the World's Strongest Man."

"C-Captain Morgan!" While the other marines screamed, Ace could not help but be transfixed by the utterly feral look in the tied up man's eyes. It was frankly… breath-taking. His smirk widened.

"So what do you say, Roronoa Zoro?"

The other returned his grin with a much more bloodthirsty one.

" _You_ ," a voice hissed. When he turned around, it was to Morgan stumbling to his feet, a wild glare directed to Ace. His iron jaw looked completely ruined, dislocated and deformed from Ace's punch.

"Oh? You're still awake? Not bad. Anyone else would be unconscious by now."

" _Pirate scum. You dare – DIE!_ Men! Fire at him!"

Ace dodged the volley of bullets that followed, disappearing from view for a moment, only to reappear behind Morgan. He twisted mid-air, his leg coming in an axe kick at Morgan's head. The man avoided it at the last second as he fell to the side. Ace followed with another punch in the stomach, dodging the axe coming down at him. He swung himself in the air, pressing his hands on Morgan's axed arm for purchase, kicking his knee at the back of the man's head, hard. Morgan fell like a log.

"No way!"

"He beat Captain Morgan so easily!"

"Who the hell is he!?"

" _Daddy!_ " The scream came from a blond man dressed in a ridiculous purple suit and the… weirdest haircut Ace had ever seen. "You! Stay away from daddy or I'll-I'll blow his brains out!" Ace raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the trembling hand pointing a gun at Zoro's face.

Then, stuffing his hands in his pockets, he smirked.

Before anyone could react, Zoro had snapped the rope holding him tied up, slapping the gun away to land across the yard. The blond screeched as Zoro fisted his collar, bringing them face to face.

"Want to say that again?" he growled threateningly. The frightened squeak that left the blond's mouth was hilarious, if anyone asked Ace. The smell of piss not so much.

Zoro wrinkled his nose at the smell, throwing the blond idiot over his shoulder.

From across the yard, the blond idiot sat up and blubbered, "W-What are you idiots waiting for? Arrest them! Do something!"

With a quirk of his lips, Ace turned to the rest of the marines and arched an eyebrow at them, wondering if they would actually attack them after this. They could not lack _that_ much braincell, right?

The marines, honestly consisting mainly of low ranked soldiers, shared a look before, to the astonishment of almost everyone else watching, they threw their weapons to the ground and burst into cheers. Ace let out a huff of laugher as they hugged each other and cried what was apparently tears of joy.

Marines were hilarious. Seriously.

"Well, you don't see that every day." Ace turned to the green-haired man walking up to him and cocked his head at him questioningly. Zoro jerked his head at the celebrating marines. "Marines celebrating pirates beating one of their own.

Ace snorted and grinned. "Pirate _s_ , huh? So does that mean you're joining my crew?"

"Only on one condition," the Zoro huffed. "I'll become the World's Greatest swordsman and if you get in my way, I'll cut you down."

Ace threw an arm over the other's shoulders, his other arm thrusting a victorious punch over their heads. "You won't see me complaining; I wouldn't accept any less. Welcome to the crew! Now let's get you back your swords." Ace turned to the still celebrating marines and whistled sharply.

Later, a long, long while later, Zoro would reflect on this moment, the midday sun beating down on them, a marine tyrant not far and lying completely unconscious, his own body weak from hunger and weariness and he would think that it was completely fitting how the marines all snapped to attention. This, he would think, should have been the clear indication of what would come with this man calling himself simply 'Ace' as his Captain.

After all, what else for the man who would shake the world? What else for the one man to whom the world would bow to?

This, he would think, was the beginning of the man the world would call the King of the Seas, the Pirate King.

There was still a long way to go before that though and there was a lot of growing to do along the way. The most change to come however would come from that man, the one who gathered them together, and gave them a reason and the means to pursue their dreams. The man trapped in a dream, gathering a crew of dreamers to chase _their_ dreams.

Now though, all Zoro could do was throw his head back and laugh at the hilarity of the situation. Yeah, being a member of that man's crew promised to never be boring at least.

* * *

Not far from there, a young woman with orange hair stared out the window from where she had been ruffling through the marine captain's desk. She had seen the whole scene, as from the young man with messy black hair appeared over the wall overlooking the yard, to when the marines appeared, and the following fight. She had watched, she had seen, she had heard.

And she snorted.

She knew pirates. She had grown up with them and she knew just how despicable pirates were. Traitorously, for a moment she hoped that those two dreamers would be a different kind of pirates, before she shook herself at the absurdity. Who was she kidding? They might dream big, hold the same kind of dream she once held dear but they were still _pirates_.

And pirates were scum.

* * *

_Many, many years later, when the whole world would know their names, those who had been there would look back with a feeling of wonder._

_This –_ this _– was the beginning of their legend._

_(And a part of them would also ask themselves how they never even noticed the absolute lack of joy and warmth in their own Captain's eyes, even as he smiled and laughed and dragged them into crazy adventures. Never knowing that this same man was trapped_ _ **trapped**_ _trapped_ _, living life but not_ living.

_They would all go a long way to grow into the legends they would be known as but the one who would change the most, would be their Captain. Their_ only _Captain.)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not going to strictly keep to the story, to show how things really have changed but there will be similarities.
> 
> Leave behind your thoughts


	3. Chapter Two

"He left the swords in his room," the marine said. "It's this way." The man indicated another corridor to the two pirates following him. Inwardly, he wondered how the situation had even come to this. There he was, a faithful marine, helping two young pirates getting around in their headquarters. However, he was the highest-ranking officer after the Captain and he would rather do it himself instead of dragging someone else in this. "It's in here," he opened the door to a bedroom full of pink, ruffles and perfume. He tried not to allow his eyes to linger; this room always made him want to either throw up or stare in stupefaction that such a room even was possible. On another thought, now they could actually burn this whole room down since _no one was going to stop them_. Besides, what a better way to get morale up?

The two pirates entered the room, both stopping for a moment to stare at all the _pink_ , the self-proclaimed pirate Captain gawping at the ruffles, refusing to put another step forward, while the green-haired _previous_ pirate hunter resolutely marched to the three swords waiting for him, a brief shudder being his only reaction.

" _That looks like a Barbie doll room_ ," the strange befuddled whisper came from the young Captain. The marine had no idea what the young man meant and honestly, he would not like to know either.

"Alright, done. Let's go," the swordsman came back to them determinedly without a backwards glance. Quickly, they closed the door behind them.

"Now," the marine quickly said before another comment could be made – and to distract them from the room they had left behind, though he would never say this aloud – "while we are all thankful to you for saving us from Captain Morgan's tyranny, I have to ask you to leave. Since you are pirates, I cannot look the other way but because of all you have done for us, I can at least allow you enough time for you to gather supplies to leave the island. But, please, do not ask more of me."

"That's alright," the young Captain grinned. "That's more than I expected anyway so thanks." With that, the two young pirates turned to make their way out of the building.

* * *

Well, he did not know who was more surprised: Zoro and he who stared half-surprised, half-amused at the young girl frozen in front of them, said girl who held the evidence of her crime in her hand or the marine who had been escorting them and stood there spluttering. You could almost hear crickets in the background.

And then, of course, the girl latched onto Ace's arm and let out in a loud simpering voice, "Boss! There you are! I've got the thing like you asked."

"What – You – She –!?"

Reacting quickly and not showing just how bewildered he actually was, Ace nonchalantly turned his head from the marine and continued to make his way out of the base.

"Oh, yeah, that's my crewmate, so… bye!" And then he bolted from there, dragging the girl with him since she was still clinging to his arm. Zoro followed with a snort, leaving the spluttering marine in the dust.

The three of them stopped when they were well outside the marine base, hidden by some surrounding trees. While the girl panted, leaning heaving with her hands on her knees, Ace took the time to really examine her. She seemed not that much younger than he was, with short orange hair and dressed in a simple white tee and blue mini shorts. His memories of Before were blurry at best by then but he could definitely recognise one who would have been _his_ crewmate. Well, things were looking up!

"So, is she really your crewmate?" Zoro leaned against a nearby tree, crossing his arms in front of him. The man was clearly fatigued and yet he was not only still standing but also not hurrying to fulfil his body's basic needs.

Before Ace could even open his mouth to reply, the girl snapped forward towards him and shouted, "AS IF I'LL EVER BE A PIRATE!"

Zoro cringed and stuck a finger in his ear. "Oi! No need to shout. Beside you're the one who needed our help out!"

The girl huffed, crossing her arms indignantly.

"What was it that you took from there anyway?" Ace asked.

"None of your business," she snapped without pause.

"Fine, fine. It's not that I care anyway but maybe you could be more careful next time," Ace shrugged, lips pulling into a wry grin.

"I don't need to hear that from filthy pirates!"

"Alright, alright." Ace chanced a look at the girl. She was looking away from them, a scowl on her overwise pretty face and her hand clenching the paper she had apparently taken from the marines. Well, might as well… "Hey, want to join the crew?"

"Hah!? There's no way I'll ever join a pirate crew!"

"You want her on the crew?" Zoro raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sure!" Ace grinned. "Anyone with the guts to steal from marines would be a great addition to the crew."

"What in 'no way' do you not understand!?"

"Come on," Ace cajoled with a cheerful grin. "It'll be fun."

"I'd sooner die than become a low life like a pirate," she spat.

"You're one to talk, _thief_ ," Zoro drawled.

"Better a thief than pirate scum," she hissed back. "There's no way I'd ever be the kind of person to pillage innocent people!"

Ace blinked. "We're not _that_ kind of pirate."

"Oh? And what kind of pirate are you, huh?"

"The kind that looks for adventure and treasure of course!"

The girl snorted derisively. "Like there's a difference. All pirates are the same."

Zoro sighed from where he was, closing his eyes as he slumped against the tree, "Clearly she doesn't want to join the crew. We should go. Didn't you say we'd go to the Grand Line?"

Ace frowned, his lower lip falling in an exaggerated pout. "But I want her on the crew…"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!? FIVE!?" Zoro shouted at him.

Neither saw as the girl looked down at the paper in her hand contemplatively and narrowed her eyes. She glanced at the two men in front of her and pursed her lips.

"Wait." At her voice, the two bickering males turned and blinked at her. "You two are strong, right? How about a deal instead?"

"HAH!?"

"Alright!" Ace grinned. "What kind of deal are you thinking about?"

"Seriously!?"

The girl narrowed her eyes at the grinning Ace, ignoring the exasperated Zoro. "You help me get something from a pirate crew and I'll help you get to the Grand Line. That's where you want to go, right?"

"Okay!"

"DON'T JUST AGREE THAT EASILY, DAMN IT!"

"So, what's your name anyway? And what are we getting and from who?"

* * *

A few hours later, the newly-formed small crew of three left the island, an exasperated Nami rubbing the bridge of her nose as she glanced at the tiny dinghy tied to her small boat. She could not believe she actually got herself stuck with those two idiots. Apparently, in all the excitement with getting Zoro and then getting said swordsman food before they had to run, Ace had forgotten that he no longer had navigation tools. Zoro on the other hand had never even _owned_ any before despite having been sailing for a while. They were both lucky enough that Nami was a navigator and now she was left having to guide them.

She chanced another look at them. In the dinghy, Zoro was already sound asleep, his swords resting in his arms. Ace was sitting not far from him. He seemed to be writing in a small book. Neither seemed to be particularly threatening at that moment but she had seen them fight. Even with the little she had seen she knew that they were both dangerous men.

For better or for worse, she was stuck with them for the time being. The least she could do was make sure they had their uses.

* * *

_Getting Zoro was easy. He felt uneasy, however, when Nami was concerned._

_He had honestly not expected the orange-haired girl's vehement refusal to his proposal to join the crew. Nami seemed to really hate pirates and for the life of him he could not understand why. She had been part of_ his _crew so she could not have hated them_ _Then_ _._

_He gritted his teeth. For all he knew, he had done something_ _else_ _wrong and now the navigator was not going to join them. What was he supposed to do then?_

_At least the girl was sticking around for a while. He could only hope he would be able to convince her to join them permanently._

'What should I do… Luffy? …Sabo?'

* * *

**One Week Before**

Two figures stood at the helm of a ship, looking out towards the deep blue sea. They both wore heavy cloaks that concealed their identities and yet despite their mistrustful appearance they both also seemed comfortable in each other's presence. The taller of the two glanced at his companion, dark eyes undecipherable as they stared down at the only other person on deck. The smaller figure had his whole face shrouded in shadows and when the sunlight hit his face under the cowl, all that could be seen were dark grey eyes that glared at the horizon, the rest of his face hidden under a cloth face mask that hid everything from the nose down.

Looking back towards the sea, the taller of the two asked, "Are you sure about this?"

Through the face mask, the other tightened his jaw and gritted his teeth. Glaring harder at the sea, he replied, " _yes_."

"I see."

There was a moment of silence when none of the two said anything and all that could be heard were the waves hitting the ship.

Then, as if unable to remain silent, the shorter of the two asked, voice tight with tension and frustration, "why wouldn't you teach me –"

"No," the other interrupted the now familiar question. "You are not ready."

The other hit his fist on the rail. "According to you, I'm never ready! It's been ten years!"

"You are still not ready."

" _When the hell_ will I be ready then!?" he hissed through gritted teeth, clenching his fists.

The other turned, staring at angry grey eyes before turning back to the sea. "Not now."

The other clicked his tongue. "Whatever. It's not like it matters anymore. I'll be out of your hands soon." He turned to walk away but was stopped when a hand griped his shoulder. He did not turn back around and instead glared ahead, waiting for what the other was going to say.

"Tomorrow we reach Dawn Island," the other started. "You won't have my backing anymore; as from tomorrow, it's all on you."

"I _know_ ," the smaller of the two replied still refusing to turn around.

There was another moment of silence before the taller man sighed. "Here." A small black leather book appeared in the other's line of vision as the taller man hung it in front of his face.

"What's that?" he asked, automatically reaching to take a hold of it. Leafing through it, he found that the pages were all blank. With a frown, he finally turned back to his companion and gazed up at the other with confused grey eyes.

His companion looked back at him before turning to look at the sea, towards where Dawn Island was supposed to be. "You said you were going to write your adventure, right?" When the other just blinked at him in surprise, he added, "You can use that."

The smaller of the two stared at him before looking back down at the small book in his hand. The book was not too big but it had a lot of pages, perfect to carry around while also having enough space for a lot of writing.

"Huh."

* * *

A day later, the same two cloaked figures could be seen moving through the darkness of the night as they climbed a hill on Dawn Island. They walked for a while in complete silence. They had left behind the crew that had accompanied them; a crew made up of only the most trustworthy people for this particular journey. Neither said anything even when they exited the forest and came across a cliff overlooking the sea.

The most prominent landmark in this particular place were the two small graves in the middle of the clearing. It had been years, ten in fact, since either had been there. And yet, there they were again.

The taller of the two stopped at the back, allowing respectfully for the other to walk up to kneel between the two graves. They were small, too small, but that was what was most tragic. The only markings to indicate the two graves were the two wooden crosses planted firmly in the ground. It had been years since they had been established but they remained untouched even after all this time. Weeds had started growing around but the graves were still distinguished among the wild plants.

The masked and cloaked figure knelt there for a moment before he took out something from his cloak. It was a bouquet filled with red hibiscus flowers, not the most common or recommended for the dead but he knew that neither he had come to see would mind. What mattered, after all, was what was in the heart. He put the bouquet between the two graves, fingering one of the petals before he stood up.

As he stood there, he could see the two wooden crosses ad beyond the deep blue sea opening up in front of him.

" _I'm setting off now. Luffy. Sabo._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to have Coby in this chapter but when I was writing, I found that it did not... really fit? So instead I wrote this One Week Before bit. I would really want to know what you think. I'm so excited for this fic! Seriously
> 
> Anyway, leave behind your thoughts and tell me what you think!
> 
> Leight


	4. Chapter Three

They were barely a couple of hours at sea when they came across the ship. Ace leaned back against the dinghy's side and stared, ignoring Nami's panicking in the background and Zoro's snores. It was pink. What was up with that, seriously? This was the second time he came across the excessive use of the colour. And during the same day too.

The black flag indicated that they were pirates but they would have known anyway, with how they were suddenly threatened and jeered at, Zoro being awoken with all the noise and Nami, funnily enough, trying to hide behind Ace. Finding the situation awfully hilarious, Ace stopped Zoro with a glance when the other made for his swords.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Nami hissed at him as they were dragged aboard the ship.

"Shush. I want to see if they have some food," Ace replied quietly.

" _Do you think with your stomach!?_ " she whisper-shouted. Beside them, Zoro yawned, choosing to see what their new Captain was planning. He crossed his arms and leaned back, the perfect picture of nonchalance.

Ace glanced back at the girl and then added, "Hey, they might have treasure. You like those, right?"

Nami's attitude made a complete U-turn, her eyes transforming in berrie signs. " _Treasure_!" That made Ace grin and Zoro snort.

"You sure change your tone fast," Zoro commented drily.

"Shut it!" the girl snapped.

"Hey you three! Stop muttering among yourselves and listen up!" one of the thugs shouted at them. His companions had swords and guns trained on the three newcomers. "You'll give us all the treasure you have on you and we _might_ choose to let you leave with your lives!" The other thugs added in some threatening comments, sneering and jeering as if they were having all the fun in the world.

"HAH!?" Nami shouted. "AS IF!"

Clearly not expecting her reaction, the old pirates gapped at her for a moment before they became even more incensed. They waved their weapons threateningly once again.

"Do you know who we are, little girl?" the apparent spokesperson growled. Nami squeaked and jumped back behind Zoro, peeking around his form to glare at the pirates. "We are the Alvida Pirates! Our Captain is the fearsome 'Iron Mace' Alvida herself! You'd be lucky if you can leave this ship with your life!"

"Never heard of her," Zoro yawned.

"Where's this Captain anyway?" Ace raised a sceptical eyebrow at the group.

"There's no need to bother the Captain for lowlifes like you, kids! Now give us your treasure!" Why they did not simply go get the 'treasure' themselves instead of _asking_ was beyond Ace. Apparently, they were just that stupid.

"You got any food?" was Ace's intelligent question, ignoring the weapons pointed at them and the pirates only a step away from trying to take their lives.

"Why you insolent –!"

It was as one of them made a move towards Nami that Ace reacted. It was not long before the group of older pirates found themselves lying in a heap at their feet, unconscious.

"Alright! Let's go see if they have some food!" Ace exclaimed, a large grin on his face as he turned to his companions.

"And treasure!" Nami was quick to add.

"And booze," Zoro decided to inject.

Decision made, the three made their way through the ship in their quest for food, treasure and booze. They heard noise from the galley, most likely from the rest of the missing crew and probably along with their captain too. Choosing to leave this alone for the time being, they instead made their way down under deck. There they actually found what Nami wanted: the treasure.

Piles upon piles of gold and gems could be found lying there in front of them, as if asking them to take them away. It was not a particularly big hoard but was big enough that they needed to grab two sacks to fill them in instead of one.

"Hey, I'll be keeping all the treasure," Nami announced as they made to go back to deck.

"Sure," was Ace's easy reply. The girl gave him a suspicious look but refrained from saying anything. Despite now working with those two, she was still not completely comfortable with them. She did not know what kind of people they were and worse yet, they were pirates; in her mind that meant they were untrustworthy by default. Still wary of them, particularly the 'captain' – since unlike Zoro, she had never heard anything about him before – she chose not to provoke them too much.

They had just stepped back on deck when they came across a young boy not much younger than them, cowering in the corner, hidden behind some barrels. His eyes, hidden behind large round glasses, were fixed on the pile of pirates the three had left in their wake, and he had his hands fisted in his pink hair while he muttered worriedly behind gritted teeth.

"Oh, no! What to do? What to do? What to do?" they heard as they came closer though they were still unseen by the boy. Seeing that the boy was not going to notice them any time soon, Ace crouched down behind him, hoisting the bag higher on his shoulder. Zoro, who was carrying the other bag, and Nami chose not to join him and instead stood behind him.

"Hey," he said, trying to catch the boy's attention. He did not expect said boy to suddenly jump and let out a shrill shriek. Ace blinked while the boy whirled around to stare at them, chest heaving. Ace raised a hand casually, "Yo."

The boy stared. "Who are you!?" he whisper-shouted, finally coming out of his shock. Behind Ace, Zoro and Nami snickered at the boy's theatrics.

Standing up, Ace gave the boy a crooked grin. "I'm Ace. That's Zoro and Nami. Say, can you show us where we can get some food?"

"And booze."

"And booze," he added fluidly.

The boy stared. "What… What are you doing on the ship?" And then, as if a sudden thought coming to his mind, his face gained a horrified look. "Are you _stowaways!?_ Oh, no! you need to get away before Alvida-sama sees you!"

"Alvida, huh?'' Zoro voiced lightly.

" _Yes!_ This ship's captain!" Then the boy froze, gaze fixed on Zoro. "Did you say Zo-Zo-Zoro!?" His eyes bugged out. "As in, _Pirate Hunter Zoro!?_ "

"That's the one," Nami smirked. "Except he's not so much a Pirate _Hunter_ anymore."

" _Hieeeeee_!?" The trio leaned back as one, blinking at the shriek coming from the boy who backed away from them quickly, hands coming in front of him as if to act like shields. "You – You are _Pirate Hunters!?_ "

"No way," Ace replied.

"What are you doing on this ship!" He backed further away.

"To get food," Ace replied promptly.

"Do you ever stop thinking of food?" Nami grumbled.

Ace blinked at her. "But we forgot to stock up on supplies before setting off from the island. We don't exactly have much on us, so we kind of do need food."

Nami was the one who blinked this time. She had not wondered before this why the male had been so fixated on food but now that she thought of it, she realised that he was right. They really had not stocked up on food before they had left and if they had not been stopped by this crew, they probably would have starved before they could even reach the next island. At that thought, Nami paled. How could she have been so careless? Could meeting those two and striking a deal with them really have unsettled her enough that she would forget such an important task!?

While Nami panicked in her corner, Zoro yawned. "Hey, you guys got booze too?"

"No way! No way! No way!" the boy crossed his hands and shook his head furiously. "You guys don't know on whose ship you are!? It's Captain Alvida's ship! She'll kill you if she finds you here!"

"Nah," Ace replied lightly. "Don't worry about that. We're strong. She won't be able to hurt us."

"Impossible! Impossible! Impossible! You'll die!"

Before he could say another thing, Nami hit him over the head. "Stop it with that!" she demanded. "You're getting really annoying!" The boy whined while the other two males snorted. "Besides that, you seem really scared of this Captain Alvida. Why are _you_ on this ship?"

"Eh? Oh, that's because –" He went on explaining his situation and how he was now prisoner on the ship because of a mistake when all he had wanted was to go fishing. He was now stuck on this crew, more or less as their slave.

"Pirates," Nami spat, real hatred in her eyes as she glared in the distance. "That's what you can expect of scum like that!"

"Why don't you just fight back and leave?" Zoro asked simply.

The boy's eyes widened in horror. "Impossible! Impossible! Impossible! I'd surely die if I try!"

"With that kind of attitude, yes, you will," Ace commented. "You're a pretty weak guy, huh?"

"It's not… It's not that I don't want to," he tried to explain. It seemed like the four of them had forgotten where they were, too preoccupied by their own conversation. They did not notice the galley's door opening. "If I could, I would fight. And maybe… maybe I'd even accomplish my dream!"

"Dream?" Nami asked, curious despite herself.

"Yes! My dream! I wish I could be a marine and arrest pirates like Alvida-sama!"

"YOU WANT TO ARREST WHO NOW!?" an angry voice interrupted their conversation. It was almost comical the way the boy's face froze and then fell into a sick shade of pale blue.

"Ho~? That must be the captain then," Zoro commented, a feral grin on his face as he thumbed one of his swords. Nami turned and glared at the pirate who thundered her way down to the deck. Ace hummed contemplatively, looking over his shoulder to the whale of a woman making her way to them, a large mace swung over her shoulder. He glanced back at the pink-haired boy one more time before fully turning to face the woman. Others had joined behind the older woman, looking as scruffy as the other pirates the trio had already beaten earlier.

"You," the woman hissed, narrowing her eyes at Zoro who was standing in front of the others since he had been at the back during their conversation. "You're Pirate Hunter Zoro. Have you come to claim my bounty?" Then she turned angry eyes at the cowering boy behind Ace. "Conspiring against me with Pirate Hunters, _huh, Coby_?"

"Never! Never! Never!" was the immediately reply, the boy crossing his hands in front of him while shaking his head furiously, much like he had done earlier when facing the trio.

"I'm not here for your bounty," Zoro decided to speak up. "Never even heard of you before."

"Impossible!" was the vehement reply from the woman, swinging her mace around to rest at her feet. "I am 'Iron Mace' Alvida! The most beautiful woman in the world!"

"The _what_ now?" Nami questioned incredulously behind Ace.

"Who am I, Coby?"

"You – You are Lady Alvida-sama!" the boy squeaked behind Ace.

Ace sighed. He took a step forward to stand before Zoro. "Geez, I hate weaklings like you," he muttered. Then louder, "hey, old hag. You got any food?"

It was like time froze for the Alvida Pirates. They froze with equal looks of horror on their faces at the young man's daring. Alvida, on the other hand, looked like she could not believe she was hearing correctly. Soon enough, however, her face took on an ugly shade of puce and her expression contorted in rage.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" Nami shrieked, backing away. Zoro, on the other hand, let out a loud laugh, taking in the incredulous looks around them.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME, BRAT!?" the woman bellowed, swinging her mace around to point it at him. "I AM 'IRON MACE' ALVIDA! THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD! I AM THE WOMAN WHO WILL FIND THE ONE PIECE! HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME LIKE THIS!?"

The woman's face had taken on a horrible puce colour and Ace could only stare in stupefaction. She called herself the most beautiful… woman? Okay, to each their own, he supposed, but still, there was one thing…

"Woman, you wouldn't even _make_ it to the grandline," he noted slowly.

His brief moment of absolute bewilderment did not stop him from ducking when Alvida swung her mace at him. Zoro unsheathed his sword but with a cock of Ace's head, he hung back and stood in front of Nami and the pink-haired boy. With the knowledge that the two were safe, Ace let a crooked grin slip on his face as he slipped around and around Alvida's clumsily swinging mace like a demented snake. It was clear the woman had no training in using the weapon and had relied on it being large and heavy to deal damage. As such, for Ace who _was_ trained, it was laughably easy to move his body just so to avoid it.

"STOP RUNNING AWAY, YOU COWARD!" the bellow from the red-faced 'Captain' came almost as a last-ditch effort to get Ace to stay still. Surprisingly enough, her crew had stayed behind all this time, cheering on her will jeers, until it became clear that the fight was definitely not in her favour. Now they were silent as they watch with rapt attention as their captain became even more worked up.

Deciding that enough was enough, Ace ducked under another swing of the mace, gave a knifehand strike to her wrist and when the mace fell from her finger, he kicked it away and off the ship, straight into the sea. With that done, and his audience left with boggling eyes and dropped jaws, Ace swung himself up and into the air, fell in a downward kick, hitting her over the shoulder. However, he had overestimated how much she could take; instead falling to the deck, Alvida fell _through_ the deck, down _through_ the hull and into the sea.

There was a brief moment of silence where they all leaned over and looked down at the hole - hole _s_. Even from where they were, they could see the sea water filling in. Clearly, it would not be long before the ship sunk. The other pirates gave Ace, and subsequently his companions, terrified looks but the young pirate Captain paid them no mind. Instead, he threw the bag that he had dropped when Alvida had first attacked at Nami who caught it with a shriek.

"Abandon ship," he ordered. "Get Coby a boat and get off. I'll be with you after I get the food. Go!"

The last thing he saw before he turned away was Zoro hauling away Coby, the other pirates getting out of their way. He made it to the galley and haphazardly grabbed any edibles he could find, stuffing them in a nearby empty barrel. He grabbed the unopened bottles of alcohol stashed in a nearby cupboard, swung the barrel over his shoulder and ran out. The ship had tilted since he had left the deck, already sinking in the ocean. Cries of panic could be heard from the other pirates but Ace paid them no mind while he dashed to where they had left their boats.

With one mighty jump, he landed on the dinghy he had been sharing with Zoro, the boat wobbling dangerously at his sudden added weight. Another little rowing boat wobbled languidly beside it and in it sat a shrieking pink-haired boy. Taking count that everyone was present, Ace threw the barrel on Nami's ship, since it was the biggest, and gave the order to sail off.

* * *

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Coby bowed as much as he could in the little boat he found himself in, a little bag of food from the barrel Ace had pilfered from the Alvida Pirates beside him. The four of them were far enough away from what remained of the Alvida Pirates that they could no longer hear the cries of panic from the crew.

"No worries," Ace replied with an easy grin.

"So, you're really going to join the marines?" Nami asked from her place on her own ship, the ship she had explicitly forbidden any of them from stepping foot on, not that it was not an easy choice. Clearly the girl wanted her space and both Zoro and Ace were content enough in their little dinghy.

"Yes!" the boy exclaimed eagerly. "I'm free from Alvida and it's all because of you. I can finally follow my dream and become a marine, and one day I'll catch so many pirates, just you see!"

"Heh, good for you," Zoro smirked.

"What about you guys?"

"Oh, you know, get a couple more guys on the crew and make way for the grandline," Ace replied, leaning back on the side of the boat.

"Crew…?" Coby frown in confusion before, a moment later, his eyes boggled at him, a shriek leaving his lips, "EH!? You're _pirates!?_ "

"Of course," Ace blinked at him.

"But – but! You don't act like pirates!"

"I'm _not_ a filthy pirate," Nami was quick to object.

"Where's the rest of your crew!?"

"Good question. Where _is_ the rest of the crew, Captain?" Zoro said.

"Oh, yeah," Ace said with a blink, as if remembering something. "I haven't told you guys yet, have I?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "Right now it's just four of us: us three and another one waiting for us in the grandline."

"Hey, _I'm_ just a temporary partner," Nami added quickly.

"But until you leave, you're still part of the crew," was Ace's simple answer.

"So, there's someone else? And he's already in the grandline too?" Zoro questioned curiously.

" _She_ ," Ace corrected. "And yeah, she'll be waiting at the beginning of the grandline, only a couple of islands in if I'm correct. She had some unfinished business so while she takes care of that, we'll have enough time to get a ship, a few more guys and then it's off to the grandline."

"But – But, the grandline is said to be really dangerous!" Coby cut in, looking extremely worried and anxious even if he was not the one who would sail there. "It's called the pirate graveyard, you know!?"

Ace blinked. "It's not _that_ bad. Or at least the first half."

"You've already been to the grandline?" Nami asked, leaning over the railing of her ship to peer down at the older man, curious despite herself. With a slight frown on her face, she wondered why he agreed to their deal if he had already been there.

"Only a bit in the first half," he answered. "Mostly I've travelled across the four Blues."

"Huh," Zoro hummed contemplatively. "Why start now to gather a crew then?"

His only reply was a bland smile before the older man turned back to the pink-haired boy, "So, Coby, you want to join the marines, right?" At the boy's sudden nervous stutters, Ace gave a crooked grin, leaning forward to pat the young teenager on the head, kind of how you would a dog, "relax. Just because we're pirates doesn't mean we'll stop you." As the boy blinked at him in surprise, Ace continued, "so we just left Shell's Town. It should be a couple of hours that way," he used his finger to point the direction. "We _might_ have left the marine base there in a _situation_ and they'll definitely be in need of more recruits. You can chance your way in there if you want."

"Wha-Wha-What kind of situation!?" Coby stuttered, almost not wanting to receive an answer.

"Eh, the Marine Captain there was a rotten piece of work."

"No way! Marines are the good guys! I'm sure that –"

"Coby."

At hearing his name, the boy's mouth snapped shut. His eyes widened in surprise, watching as the no loner smiling man gave him a serious look. He gulped.

"Look, I'm not going to tell you you're wrong," Ace said. On the other side of the dinghy and up on her own ship, both Zoro and Nami watched him with surprised eyes. "But I'm also not going to tell you you're right. Just like there are good and bad people, there are good and bad marines. But…" Here he paused before he continued, "because I'm a pirate you're probably not going to believe me anyway so all I can tell you is: don't just categorise people in black and white, good and evil; people just don't _work_ like that. Because if you do, you'll just end up disappointed. If you want to know what really happened in Shell's town, go there and ask around. Then you can decide for yourself what you think." Then, as if to lighten the suddenly dark mood, he added with a wide grin, "but, hey, I've got a good feeling about you. If anything, you'll probably end up one of those good marines. So, don't give up."

He ended with giving the now wildly blushing boy an encouraging wink.

* * *

_It was hours later after night fell, after Coby had already left for his own journey, that Nami thought back to her two companions. Roronoa Zoro was just like the rumours had said but at the same time not. He was a swordsman, a really strong one at that – she thought back at what had happened in the marine base at Shell's Town with a wince – but he was also not that savage monster the rumours made him out to be. The man was pretty content sleeping and drinking – as seen after Ace got the booze he had robbed from the Alvida Pirates out. He did not just go around killing people like some irrational killing machine. He had been content to stay back when Alvida had 'fought' Ace – it could hardly be called a fight with the way the young man had clearly been way out of the woman's league – and instead protect Coby and her._

_And then there was her new 'Captain'. She… was starting to really not know what to think about those two pirates. Ace, as he called himself, was a cheerful man and clearly kind in the way he had helped Coby. He had seen that the boy did not want to be there, had got him out of a situation he was clearly unhappy, and decided simply that if the boy dreamt that he wanted to be a marine, then he might as well send him off. He was a pirate and yet he had encouraged Coby, given him some of the food he had stolen and he had even given him some advice without just telling him what he wanted him to do._

(He had given Coby the option of choosing for himself and Nami who knew what it was like to be forced on a pirate crew, to have no choice but to serve the captain's selfish demands, knew at least a bit of what Coby had gone through… she knew that having the option to think and chose his own life for himself meant a lot for the boy.)

_Ace had helped the boy without asking anything in return. Sure, he had called the boy a weakling, but that was kind of what he was._

(Coby could have fought. He could have left, escaped. He did not have a whole village or island depending on his staying loyal to the pirate crew. He was just a coward.)

_Ace… was not the image she had of pirates. And yet… that did not erase the fact that they_ were _pirates. From what little she had seen of the man, Ace might be a good enough man_ now _, that did not mean it would last._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here's a longer chapter than what I usually write. Anyway, I hope you like it.
> 
> The 'she' mentioned is not an OC. You can pretty much guess who she is and I'll explain everything in later chapters.
> 
> I hope you like this chapter. Let me know what you think.
> 
> Leight


End file.
